Family of inmate who killed himself announcing lawsuit

NEW ORLEANS – Family members of an inmate who hanged himself in New Orleans' new jail last year say they're filing a lawsuit over his death.

Relatives of 61-year-old Cleveland Tumblin didn't immediately release details of the complaint. But they scheduled a news conference outside the city's federal courthouse for Wednesday morning with prisoner advocates and attorneys.

Tumblin died last March about six months after the new jail opened.

The New Orleans sheriff hailed the new lockup as a major step in ending jail violence and suicide. But Tumblin hanged himself in a shower, and a 15-year-old inmate killed himself in October.

Under mounting legal pressure, Sheriff Marlin Gusman last year agreed to cede authority over the jail to a federal court-approved expert who was hired late last year.